The field of the invention is in electrostatic machines.
Electrostatic machines have been well known for many years. The Toepler-Holtz and the Wimshurst machines were early electrostatic generators. Now their usage is mainly for demonstrations in the Physics Laboratory. The only remaining electrostatic machine to remain in extensive usage is the Van de Graaff type electrostatic generator. It is presently used to generate extremely high voltage potentials for atomic research. Substantially all of the prior art devices are direct current type machines.
The following publications may be helpful in further understanding the art. Electrostatic Sources of Electric Power, John G. Trump, Electrical Engineering, Vol. 66, No. 6, June 1947, pages 525-534; U.S. Pat. No. 2,810,878 to patentee N. Felici, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,094,653 to patentees D. B. LeMay et al.